Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

Riko's eyes widened suddenly, her pupils dilating and contracting before returning to normal. She swallowed, pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and remained silent.

It really is like that, the feeling of escaping death is so thrilling...

"Next time I'll take you to do something different." Xiuming slung his arm over his shoulder. "Come on."

Hideaki had a clear understanding of Riko's emotional journey.

Just as long-suppressed mental turmoil has led to the release of emotions in a strange way.

Yes, it can be beneficial to physical and mental health.

When she feels wronged to a certain extent next time, try something different, like bungee jumping, roller coasters, extreme sports, watching horror movies, or something else... When you have money, buy a car that you can't see inside from the outside.

A cherry blossom tree, as thick as an arm, was planted in the green belt on the left, its branches laden with pink cherry blossoms reaching out onto the sidewalk.

Xiuming spotted the most vibrant cherry blossom on the tree, reached out and plucked it off, looked down at Riko, then popped it into his mouth, chewed it, and spat it into the green belt.

Let's continue discussing the topic of fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law!

"Um……"

Riko was clinging to Hideaki's arm, looking up at him with a somewhat dazed expression. She had thought Hideaki was going to stick a flower in her hair, and she had been shyly anticipating it, but instead he ate it.

Is this edible? Lots of people are watching! If you get caught, you could be fined, or even go to jail!

Despite passersby glancing at him and frowning at his inappropriate behavior of eating flowers in the street, Xiuming seemed completely unconcerned.

Riko wanted to remind him, but she didn't dare to say it for fear of being scolded.

Most importantly, she inexplicably felt envious of his carefree attitude.

It seems exciting to watch him break the law like this, my husband is so amazing... But this is wrong, I can't do this.

Riko is currently in a state of euphoria, as if she has escaped death. All her negative emotions have been exhausted, and she has developed some resistance to her worries, allowing her to deal with them rationally.

Riko's parents live in the countryside of Hokkaido. Her father, Daio Miyamoto, and mother, Shizuka Miyamoto, run a small hot spring inn. Business was good a few years ago, but it has been bad in recent years because Mr. Daio was hospitalized for a period of time.

Mr. Nobita is 61 years old this year. He is a traditional and old-fashioned man who suffers from high blood pressure and heart disease. Mrs. Shizuka is 58 years old this year. She is in good health and is a traditional housewife with a personality similar to Riko's.

Hideaki asked questions one by one, and Riko answered them one by one.

"So these are my father-in-law and mother-in-law..." Xiuming nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Honey... what do you think of them?" Riko glanced at him cautiously, then quickly looked away. "I mean... if, if you're not satisfied..."

Riko didn't know what to say. Actually, she wanted to ask Hideaki: Why do you dislike them?

But she dared not utter such questioning words, for fear of displeasing Xiuming.

I just mentioned "Can we live without parents?" again, and Xiuming tapped me on the forehead. Ouch!

She dared not mention it again.

"There's no such thing as being satisfied or dissatisfied,"

Xiuming stretched his right arm over his head, idly fiddling with each cherry blossom he noticed using his index finger.

He flung the perfect cherry blossoms into pieces, some petals falling and landing on his arm. He shook his arm off, then fanned the falling petals into the green belt. "I'm the 'substitute son-in-law.' Your husband who jumped off the building must be very familiar with them, right? Meeting me would expose you, wouldn't it?"

It was clearly a good deed, but it made the world lose a widow and gain a happy young wife, yet it's being treated like an affair.

As long as they don't find fault with me, I'm definitely a good son-in-law.

If they dare to call the police, tie them up, lock them up, and keep them there until they never dare to call the police again.

"Probably...no way," Riko explained weakly in a low voice. "We only met once during the New Year. I was busy with work and didn't eat at home. We didn't say much before I left. I probably wouldn't remember, right?"

Based on her hazy memories, Riko guessed that her parents must have forgotten them just like she had, or even more completely than she had, since she still occasionally looked at their photos.

"Really? Then I'm relieved. When we have children in the future, we'll send them there and let them take care of the kids."

Xiuming hates taking care of children, especially those who haven't been weaned. Once they start crying, he gets so frustrated that he slaps his own face and bangs his head against the bed.

"Um..." Riko's face flushed with shyness and hesitation as she whispered, "It's just... a small, minor problem..."

"Spit it out! Don't make me ask. You need to get rid of this lousy habit right away!"

“Dad didn’t approve of my marriage to him back then, Dad didn’t like him…” Riko’s shoulders trembled, her voice trembling with tears, “But I like…no…I don’t like…no. I, I can convince Dad to like you, that you’re a substitute, oh no, you’re real, and he’s fake…I like the real me, oh no, it’s fake…oh no, it’s real…it’s…it’s…”

Riko tried to grab her hair, but Hideaki's scolding terrified her so much that she started talking nonsense.

Chapter 34: Ways to Eliminate and Release Mental Stress - Today is So Exciting!

"Tell your dad to watch out when he sees me."

Xiuming grew impatient, tightened his grip on her waist with his left arm, and pulled her forward. "I don't care if you like it or not. If you don't like it, I'll find it even more exciting. Let's go!"

“Okay…okay,” Riko stammered, stunned. Although she hadn’t angered her husband and had survived, his words were so heartless… She replied blankly, “I…I will try my best…”

"You need to get rid of this annoying habit of taking tiny, shuffling steps! I've been wanting to tell you this for ages!"

This is what Hideaki just noticed. He takes a step forward, and Riko has to jog three steps.

She was wearing wide-leg pants, not a fitted pomegranate skirt. The way she walked made Xiuming feel awkward. "Swing your legs and take big strides! It's so hesitant and awkward."

"Okay...okay..."

Riko blushed and dared not argue: Everyone walks like this, isn't it to appear well-mannered and ladylike?

"Run, run, run big!"

Xiuming suddenly grabbed her wrist and quickened his pace.

Riko was almost pulled down, and instinctively ran forward, but her mind was a little dazed: it was too sudden, she hadn't gotten used to it yet... so many people were watching...

Xiuming didn't stop, he even quickened his pace, running towards the green tram that had just pulled up a dozen meters away, shouting, "The police are here, get on the tram quickly..."

Just as Hideaki was pulling Riko along and running, a patrol officer parked his motorcycle next to them, opened the trunk, and took out a parking ticket.

She's going to issue a ticket to Xiuming: she received a tip from a concerned citizen that someone was maliciously damaging the cherry blossoms along the roadside.

When Xiuming spotted the patrol officer's motorcycle, he immediately realized what was happening:

Here, even wildflowers growing in the cracks of rocks are not allowed to be picked, let alone cherry blossoms, which are considered the national flower; doing so would be seen as an insult to the country.

That patrolman must have received a "malicious tip" call, intending to charge him with "damage to property," fine him 300,000 yen, or sentence him to three years in prison.

In fact, many of the top chefs here pick cherry blossoms to use as garnishes for their dishes when no one is looking.

Dishes decorated with cherry blossoms are highly sought after by Chinese people, who say that eating dishes decorated with cherry blossoms is not only a way to show love for the country, but also a way to express romance and poetry.

It's a contradiction; they're just putting on a show, while behind the scenes they're probably ruining the cherry blossoms.

"do not run!"

As Hideaki pulled Riko along and started running, the patrol officer shouted, almost knocking over the motorcycle. She jumped onto the sidewalk with the ticket in her hand, chasing after him while yelling, "Stop!"

Hideaki pretended not to hear and continued running, but Riko seemed to instinctively want to stop.

She didn't do it on purpose; it's just the nature of an honest person.

"Are you stupid!" Xiuming pulled her hard, and as she lost her balance, he quickly grabbed her slender waist, tucked her under his arm, and continued running towards the tram that had just opened its doors and was filled with a large group of people getting in and out.

"Husband... I'm scared..." Riko clung to Hideaki's waist, her face pale with fright.

"It's pretty exciting, isn't it?"

"..." Xiuming's relaxed tone made Riko momentarily dazed, and she quickly shut her lips and stopped talking.

In this short delay, the patrol officers caught up several steps, and Xiuming could almost hear her panting.

"Stop! You wretched bastard, you can't get away—ah!!!"

Before she could finish shouting, Xiuming immediately swung the two food-grade white plastic bags containing seafood that were tied to her wrists at her.

He didn't turn around, just casually flicked the wrist, simply to slow her down, but it hit her police hat and chest. Soup and shrimp spilled from her hat, smearing her face and clothes, and she almost slipped.

"I will never let you get away with this—you bastards!"

Amid the screams of the patrol officers, Hideaki had already squeezed through the crowd with Riko and jumped into the tram.

Since there are no monthly passes, I have to buy tickets with money.

The already meager savings have shrunk by several percentage points.

He intended to steal one, but a quick glance revealed that everyone's monthly pass had a strap attached; some were hanging around their necks, others tied to their handbags. In such a hurried and urgent situation, it would be difficult to steal one easily with just one hand.

After buying his ticket, Xiuming glanced back and saw the policeman squatting on the ground, picking up seafood.

I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and immediately ran away without looking back. Riko didn't turn around either. She probably couldn't recognize who was who.

Of course, since she's already run away, even if we bump into each other again, as long as she denies it, there's nothing she can do.

As for witnesses? Ha!

It was a little past 1:30 PM, late April, almost May, the hottest time of day.

Inside the tram car, Xiuming was still the tallest. If he just lowered his head slightly, it was as if he had entered a miniature world, with a field of vision filled with round heads with black hair, and of course, there were also bald heads that reflected the light.

A multitude of pungent odors filled the air above the carriage, assaulting Xiuming's nostrils: perfume, shampoo, hair wax, sweat, body odor, foot odor...

Xiuming couldn't stand the complicated smell any longer, so he picked up Riko again, squeezed to the back door, lifted Riko up, and put his nose close to her neck to breathe. She needed to take a shower, but it still smelled better than the carriage.

"Oh dear, honey, please, please don't do this... There are so many people watching, it's so embarrassing..."

Riko, who was still in shock, was now overwhelmed with shame, and her feet were already more than ten centimeters off the ground.

"Just bear with it, I'll get off at the next stop, uh..." Xiuming said sullenly without looking up, "The carriage stinks..."

Riko couldn't stand the stares from the group of people in the carriage, so she wrapped her arms around Hideaki's neck, leaned on his shoulder, and covered her flushed face with her forearm.

Today was so exciting, I feel like I'm about to break down...

While covering his nose with Riko, Hideaki observed the situation behind the train through the transparent glass of the carriage.

I wonder if the patrol officers chased after us after they finished cleaning up?

The view through the car windows is too narrow; you can't see anything at all.

When the train arrives at the station, a real-time announcement will play to announce the next stop: Nishi-Shinjuku Central Park North Gate.

Xiuming was observing the road conditions and wasn't paying attention. Just as he was about to get off the bus, Riko suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Honey~ we can... we can get off at the next stop..."

Their apartment building faces the north gate of Shinjuku West Central Park, separated only by a two-lane road.

After saying that, Riko quickly buried her blushing face in Xiuming's neck again, thinking to herself: I'm just trying to save money, I don't like this feeling...